What a terrible article. It starts out OK, but quickly goes wrong. Yes, the 5 Forces model is the most overused piece of analysis since the 'pro and con' list

What a terrible article. It starts out OK, but quickly goes wrong. Yes, the 5 Forces model is the most overused piece of analysis since the 'pro and con' list. But to wholesale throw it out because the company went bankrupt, well, this just looks like dancing on the grave of another. I don't see anything wrong at all with finding a business that has natural protections from competition. Any decent startup strategy should have conversations about switching costs, customer lock-in and looking for niches where competition is less fierce, or at least favourable to early-movers. If you read Warren Buffets strategies he appears to spend a lot of time concentrating on companies with natural resistance to competition, which gives them pricing power and longevity. The whole article reeks of academic paybacks and profit is evil thinking, and I didn't bother finishing it.